Sweet
by marymin
Summary: Momo just wants to help the girl she likes in the kitchen. Kido knows this is a terrible idea.


"–Or layered cake," Momo was saying, as she flipped to a new page, "or ooh! Cupcakes! Then everyone could have their own."

She was perched on the very end of the counter, swinging her feet back and forth as she pored over a glossy cookbook. That was as far as she was allowed into the kitchen. After one too many cooking accidents, Kido had laid down the law and drawn up boundaries with a fierce grimace, and if Momo strayed even two inches further than this, Kido had sworn to banish her from the room for good.

And Momo didn't want that. After all, Kido was in here what felt like all the time these days, cooking to feed the steadily growing dan. And where Kido was, Momo wanted to be too.

Kido must want her around too, or she wouldn't have bent the rules to allow Momo to be in the room at all. At least, that's what Momo wanted to think anyway.

"No. No cupcakes. These pastries will be enough, and besides, you're not going to tempt me into letting you cook." Kido shot her a glare, the force of which was slightly softened by the cute apron she was wearing, and the fact that she'd borrowed one of Momo's frilly scrunchies to tie her long hair back.

At this point, the pastries were all but done, and cooling sheets of them covered the counter tops. Kido was in the process of piping the cream into the pastries' center, and even if Momo didn't have a giant raging crush on her, it would be worth sticking around just to see the concentration in her face as she aimed the icing tube. It looked deceptively simple, but Momo had no doubt that if anyone else in the dan was the one holding that tube of cream, there would be more on the walls and counter tops than in the pastries.

Kido turned her attention back to the baked goods, ignoring Momo's exaggerated pout, so Momo let the expression fade away. She wasn't that bothered, anyway; her protests were more a matter of pride than anything else. She watched Kido in silence for a few more minutes, Kido's furrowed brow and narrowed eyes far more interesting than the cookbook anyway. Finally, Kido straightened up with a sigh, brushing her bangs back from her face with the back of her hand.

"Done. Now let's see if these'll last even a day with that living garbage disposal around."

Momo didn't have to ask who she meant. While everyone enjoyed Kido's cooking, Konoha was a special case. Momo truly felt bad for Kido on days when she had to watch her carefully prepared meals be tipped straight down the strange boy's throat without even a single thought spared to how they tasted.

With that thought, Momo wondered why Kido didn't make something simple and filling for him rather than such labor intensive sweets. Maybe Kido was just looking for an excuse to bake.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kido saying her name, and when she looked up, Kido had crossed the invisible hazard line into Momo's part of the kitchen, offering a single pastry on a napkin in her hand.

"Here. Let me know if it's any good."

"Don't mind if I do!" Momo chirped, seizing the pastry with both hands. Her own tastes were a bit more eclectic than this (for instance, if only Kido would giv her access to the curry powder, she was sure it would be a marked improvement), but the fact that it was hand baked by Kido… There was no way she'd pass up her chance to eat something Kido had offered her like that.

She bit into the soft flaky outside with a noise of delight that quickly turned into a startled yelp as cream went everywhere. Either Kido had overfilled it, or Momo was just a messy eater, but now there was filling all over Momo's hands, and as she watched in horror, another glob began to drip down her wrist.

Kido made a frustrated noise, and Momo couldn't even look at her, cold embarrassment flooding through her chest. Couldn't she even eat like a grownup in front of the girl she liked? Hastily, she shoved the remainder of the pastry in her mouth and tried to wipe the filling from hand to hand, as if that would help.

"Kisarag– ah."

Just as Momo shoved her finger in her mouth to catch the precarious drips of filling, a napkin entered her field of vision, and she looked up. Kido was offering it to her with an unreadable expression, eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. Momo's gaze flicked to her face, back down to the napkin, and then up to her face again.

Really, she should just reach out and take the napkin, but… was Kido _blushing_? Baffled, Momo finished sucking the mess off her first finger and switched the second one, watching Kido's face with curious scrutiny. Kido's mouth tightened into a thin line, and Momo all but exploded with glee.

She was blushing! She really was! Momo could have danced and sung in that moment if she wasn't busy cleaning goop off her hands, and if Kido wasn't moving that napkin towards her again, reaching out to wipe at the corner of Momo's messy mouth.

"Honestly," she mumbled under her breath, cheeks dusted a faint pink.

Mouth full and with a jubilant smile, Momo slurred loudly, "Wan' some, Danchou?"

She'd only meant to tease her a little, to embarrass Kido further, but it was her who ended up going bright red as Kido smirked, lifting her thumb to take the last drop from Momo's cheek. "I'll consider it," Kido replied, looking down at the cream with a vaguely impressed expression, and Momo swallowed the entire pastry without chewing nearly enough.


End file.
